If You’re the CEO, You Need to Stop Selling

Recently I was part of a panel presented by Criteria for Success discussing how business owners can transition from the role of the salesperson to the role of the CEO. Additional panelists were Gregg Fisher, president and chief investment officer of Gerstein Fisher, Jennifer Waltzer, CEO and founder of Back Up My Info!, and Yacov Wrocherinsky, founder and CEO of Infinity Info Systems. The panel was moderated by Charles Bernard from Criteria for Success.

Here are the main takeaways:

The CEO Needs to Stop Selling

When you start as a one-person show, it can be difficult to step back, and watch someone else find prospects and close sales,.. Because the business owner typically creates the brand from square one, let alone depends on each sale for survival in the beginning, –it is hard to let someone else do it. However, when that first deal that someone else closes comes through you realize that you are on your way to creating a scalable company.  Can someone else sell as well as you? Maybe yes, maybe no. Fisher said if a salesperson can close 60 to 70 percent of the deals that you can, then you are ahead of the game because you benefit more by working on building your business.  

The CEO Can't Be the Sales Manager

For many small business owners, the position of CEO and sales manager are one-in-the-same. Having this dual role is bad for business, but we do it anyways –I’m guilty of it right now, actually. For starters, the CEO is constantly looking at the top and bottom line. The sales manager is concerned about hitting sales goals as well. But the sales manager also has to develop sales people. And that takes a lot of time to do right.
When you reach the stage where you’re ready to hire a sales manager, be careful not to fall into the trap of making your top salesperson your sales manager. They are two different jobs requiring different skill sets. Plus you run the risk of losing your best revenue generator.

Hiring Great Sales People

It took me three years to decide to hire my first sales person. Others on the panel took from two to five years to hire the first person, but none of us have ever looked back since that first hire. Since that first sales hire, we’ve all gone through dozens (if not hundreds) of sales resumes and learned that hiring an effective sales person is an art and a science
Here are some hiring tips the other panel participants and I have learned over the years:

• Don’t worry too much about their industry background. As long as they have some relevant experience, you will be able to mold them to sell what you need them to sell effectively.
• It’s not about looking for the most successful candidate, but for the right candidate, Wrocherinsky says. He also says to look for passion, and drive –and give them time to grow in your company.
• Fisher says you’ll know if they will be successful within the first six weeks they are hired. If they aren’t showing signs of progress, he says to weed them out.
• Walzer says to take them out to breakfast before you hire them without talking business. If you can stand to spend an hour talking casually, you know you’ll be able to work with them in the office.
• Make sure to have your candidate interviewed by several members of your team, and also by an outside source for a different perspective.
• Walzer has also seen success by matching candidates to a seven-value/traits system based on the needs of her company. If the person doesn’t match up, they’re not considered. She also lets her team make the final decision, not herself.
• Take advantage of referrals too, and always do a background check.